Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The shots that steadily fell for the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team in the first two games of the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament simply didn't on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
Between the cold shooting and the punishing inside game by the nineteenth-seeded Connors State Cowboys, 11th-seed Hutchinson's run in the 2024 NJCAA Tournament came to an end in the quarterfinal round as the Dragons were eliminated 91-69.
The Blue Dragons close the 2023-24 season 29-7, the 29 victories tying for ninth most in program history. Connors State (34-2) won its 16th-consecutive game and will play in Thursday's semifinal against Triton College. Barton and Indian Hills play in the other national semifinal.
Landon Wagler hit a 3-pointer with 14:08 to play in the first half to give the Blue Dragons a 14-6 lead. A Wagler offensive rebound and putback with 12:35 to play gave Hutchinson an 18-11 lead.
From that point, Connors State continuously pounded the ball into the paint and started to seize the momentum. The Cowboys outscored the Blue Dragons 52-36 in the paint, rallying to take a 41-36 lead at halftime. Connors State outscored the Blue Dragons 50-34 in the second half.
J.P. Ricks made a bid for the 2024 All-Tournament team with a game-high 22 points to lead the Blue Dragons. Ricks shot 6 of 11 from the floor and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line. In three tournament games, Ricks scored 43 points and dished out 21 assists.
Kamryn Thomas finished with 12 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. He added four rebounds and three blocked shots.
Kernan Bundy and Russell Branch came off the bench to score 11 points each. Valentino Simon had six points and Wagler finished with five points.
The Blue Dragons shot 36.8 percent overall (25 of 68). After hitting a season-high 16 3-pointers against Chipola on Tuesday, the Dragons hit 4 of 26 3-pointers against the Cowboys. Hutchinson was 15 of 18 from the free-throw line. The Dragons were out-rebounded 45-30, but turned the ball over less than 10 times for a third-straight tournament game with seven turnovers.
Dre Weathers had a career-high seven blocked shots, matching the season high of Edwin Daniel in the regular season. Weathers' seven blocks tied three others for seventh on the Blue Dragon single-game blocked shot list.
Bradyn Hubbard led Connors' inside game with 29 points on 10 of 21 shooting and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line. Donyae May had 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Khamani Cooper had 13 points, while Antonio Green and Buddy Hammer had 12 points each.
Connors State shot 51.6 percent (32 of 62) for the game, going only 2 of 3 from 3-point range but made 25 of 31 free throws.
Trailing 6-4 early, the Blue Dragons went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-6 lead when Wagler hit his sixth 3-pointer of the tournament with 14:08 to play in the first half. Bundy scored for a 16-9 lead, then Wagler grabbed and offensive rebounds and scored with a reverse layup for an 18-11 Hutchinson lead with 12:35 to go in the half.
Connors State countered with a 10-2 run and took a 21-20 lead with a May transition hoop with 8:49 remaining in the half. Branch and Thomas scored on consecutive possessions to rebuild a 24-21 Dragon lead with 7:36 to go.
The Cowboys countered with a 14-2 run over the next 5:13 to take a 35-26 lead after a Hammer basket in the paint with 2:23 remaining. Green scored with 29 seconds left to give Connors State a 41-30 lead. The Dragons finished the half on a 5-0 run after a Branch three-point play and two Ricks free throws cut the Dragon deficit to 41-35 at halftime.
The Blue Dragons weren't able to maintain the momentum starting the second half as Connors State scored on three-straight possessions to led 47-35 with 18:33 remaining.
Ricks hit a 3-pointer with 10:23 to play to pull the Dragons within 63-57. He hit two free throws at the 9:33 mark to close within 65-59. Connors answered the challenge with quick 9-0 run capped by a Hubbard three-point play with 6:56 left to open a 74-59 lead.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 11-4 all-time in the NJCAA Quarterfinals and 53-28 all-time in the NJCAA Tournament in 24 overall appearances. … The Dragons are 2-1 against Connors State in the NJCAA Tournament and 5-2 all-time against the Cowboys. … The 2023-24 Blue Dragons finished with 272 3-pointers, third most in Blue Dragon single-season history. … The Dragons had 10 or more blocked shots in a game for the fifth time this season. … Finishing with 78 3-pointers this season, Kamryn Thomas finished fifth on Hutchinson's single-season 3-point list. … J.P. Ricks' 172 assists were seventh most in Blue Dragon single-season history.